Structural Heterogeneity and Environmentally Regulated Remodeling of Francisella tularensis subspecies novicida Lipid A Characterized by Tandem Mass Spectrometry

The structural characterization of environmentally-regulated lipid A derived from Francisella tularensis subspecies novicida (Fn) U112 is described using negative electrospray ionization with a linear ion trap Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (IT-FT-ICR) hybrid mass spectrometer. The results indicate that a unique profile of lipid A molecular structures are synthesized in response to Fn growth at 25 °C versus 37 °C. Molecular species were found to be tetra-acylated, sharing a conserved glucosamine disaccharide backbone, a galactosamine-1-phosphate linked to the reducing glucosamine, and multiple O- and N-linked fatty acyl groups. Deprotonated molecules were interrogated by MSn scanning techniques at both high and nominal mass resolution and were found to be complex heterogeneous mixtures where structures differed based on the positions and identities of the O- and N-linked fatty acyl substituents. For the dominant ion series, which consisted of five peaks, 30 unique lipid A structures were identified. Estimates for the relative abundance of each structure were derived from MS relative abundance ratios and fragment ion ratios from comparable dissociation pathways from MS2 through MS4 experiments. The results suggest a remodeling pathway in which the amide linked fatty acid of the reducing glucosamine favors a 3-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid substituent for growth conditions at 25 °C versus a 3-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid substituent for growth conditions at 37 °C.